


It's Just South of the Mason/ Dixon Line

by elemie89



Category: Logan Lucky (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Oceans 7/11 2.0
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 11:35:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21849034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elemie89/pseuds/elemie89
Summary: When Agent Sarah Grayson returns to Boone County, she has Clyde Logan in her crosshairs. She's ready to use her feminine wiles to trap the Logan Brothers and bring them to justice.Rey Johnson is an engineering grad student from Marshall University who's wandered into Boone County after some car trouble. Clyde Logan has been incredibly helpful with her car trouble. She agrees to return the favor in the form of pretending to date Clyde so Agent Grayson leaves him alone. Let the shenanigans begin.
Relationships: Clyde Logan/Rey (Star Wars)
Comments: 64
Kudos: 169
Collections: The Pink Ladies Love Exchange





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Viridiantly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Viridiantly/gifts).



> Welcome to this fic! It's my first attempt at writing ReyLogan ( _or is it? find out tomorrow!_ ), so I hope y'all enjoy. Lia, I hope you enjoy this as this is for you. 
> 
> Much love to all my beta and all my Pink Ladies <3

_ Fifteen more minutes _ . Rey Johnson tapped her pencil and looked up from her desk. There were still three undergrad engineering students sitting and finishing up their test. Their dedication, while admirable, was beginning to grate on Rey’s nerves. This was the school related thing Rey had to do before she ran off to the Smoky Mountains. Why the asshole that she TA’s for decided to schedule an exam the Friday before Thanksgiving break is beyond her. 

She supposed it was probably a good thing she broke up with him at the beginning of the semester, before he pulled a move only the devil would be proud of. At five pm, they were probably the last souls on the campus of Marshall University, as everyone had the good sense to get the hell out of dodge. 

She could already taste the s’mores and shots of whiskey her friends would be supplying. She could already feel the food coma of Thanksgiving night overtaking her as she sat in front of the fireplace, curled up with her Kindle and a mug of hot chocolate. Her own little slice of heaven in Tennessee. 

Just then, a holiday miracle occurred, and two students stood up at the same time to turn in their exams. Rey breathed a sigh of relief, but then turned her attention to the final one. Craning her head to get a better glimpse at his paper, she can see he’s on the second to last question, and it took every fiber of her being to not tap her foot with impatience. 

“Just watch your time, Andrew,” she gently reminded the student. “Ten more minutes.” 

He looked up and nodded at her, making no effort to speed things up. 

The longest five minutes in the history of ever passed as he deliberated over the final two questions. The student finally brought up his paper, and Rey all but ran out of the lecture hall with the stack of tests. 

Putting the stack of tests down on her desk, she bid them goodbye until next Tuesday, when she returned from vacation. She revelled in her newfound freedom as she practically sprinted to her car. Her revelry was short lived. 

She’d taken a wrong turn about an hour away from Marshall, and was somewhere in the boondocks of West Virginia. It was getting dark, her GPS said she had about six more hours before reaching the cabin, and Rey was cursing herself and Professor Hux for not leaving any earlier.

Even though it would only be a five day vacation, it was sorely needed. Rey had endured a breakup, her apartment flooding, entitled students as a TA—and a mountain of grad school work that just didn’t seem to quit. The five days away over the Thanksgiving break with her friends in the mountains would be just what she needed, if only she could get there. 

The winding country road had no roadside illumination, and it was the type of dark where you could only see as far as your headlights would allow, which wasn’t very far in her beat-up 2005 Chevy Malibu. The strain was beginning to wear on her eyes, she was unsure of where exactly the hell she was, and she found herself wishing for an asshole with LED headlights to come behind her and illuminate her way. Yep, she definitely should have left earlier. One of the roadside signs became illuminated by her headlights and indicated there was a hotel an exit ahead. 

_ That does sound nice. _

It’s almost nine in the evening, Rey could barely see, and she didn’t know how much longer until I-81. She put her blinker on to change to the right lane and decided to search for the hotel. 

When she got off the exit, she was struck by just how desolate the small town is that she’d entered. She saw a small gas station next to a hardware shop, and an establishment called the Duck Tape. Rey assumed this must be the local watering hole. It’s the only place out of the three establishments that had cars around it.

Rey, with a grumble from her stomach, was now painfully aware she hadn’t eaten anything but coffee since this afternoon at lunch. She pulled into the parking lot—-which was mainly just gravel with a few concrete slabs to indicate spots—praying to whatever celestial entity that exists that this establishment had food. 

The Duck Tape had a modest exterior, simple vinyl siding and a wooden porch. The inside was just as simple, with wooden accents and Christmas lights for decoration. Not unlike the bars she’d seen in Huntington. A tall, broad man with shoulder length raven hair was behind the bar, pouring drinks for the customers assembled. 

Rey bellied up to the bar, and the man who’d been pouring drinks seconds earlier came over. 

“What’ll it be, ma’am?” He asked, his thick Southern accent inexplicably soothing her. 

“Um,” she began timidly, “this is going to sound stupid, but do you serve food?” 

The man offered her a kind smirk in return. “Ain’t no such thing as a stupid question, ma’am.” 

_ Ma’am.  _ She’d been in the South for two years, and was quite used to being addressed by strangers like that, but there was just something about the way his deep, honeyed voice said it—she wanted to hear him say it over and over again. 

“I’ll get ya a menu,” he offered. 

“Thank you,” Rey said gratefully. 

After ordering a burger and some fries, he turned back in her direction. “Anythin’ ta drink?”

“Whatever’s on tap is fine.” 

The man poured the cold, amber drink and said over his shoulder, “Ya ain’t from ‘round here, huh?” 

“That obvious?” Rey chortled, reaching for a handful of peanuts. “Actually, I’m looking for a place to stay the night around here. Any leads?” 

He paused for a moment in thought. “Ya might could try the motel down the street. It ain’t much, but it’s a bed and TV. Tell Tommy I sent ya, he’ll give a little discount.” 

“Thanks,” she said, taking a swig of her drink and sighing. “I’m Rey, by the way.” 

He shook her extended hand awkwardly with the same hand. As she shook his hand, her eyes fell on his other hand. A black metal hand was poking through his green and blue plaid shirt. There was a story there - and she wanted to know it. “I’m Clyde. Good ta meetcha, Rey. So what brings ya all the way ta Boone County?” he asked, cleaning up a spot on the bar next to her. 

_ Boone County _ , she repeated to herself. At least she knew where she was. 

“I got lost coming from Marshall, and it was getting too dark.” 

Clyde nodded in understanding. “Ya a professor or student?” 

“Grad student. Engineering.” 

Clyde nodded and reached behind him to wash a glass. “Still don’t explain how ya wound up in my humble establishment.” 

Rey laughed. “It’s a long story.” 

“Try me.”

“My friends and I rented a cabin in Pigeon Forge for Thanksgiving,” Rey pulled her phone out of her pocket and showed Clyde a picture she’d saved of the exterior of her AirBnb. 

“Looks like a mighty pretty place,” he nodded. 

“But instead of getting a head start on enjoying s’mores and reading, I just had to not listen to my GPS and wound up here.” 

Rey didn’t know what it was, but she felt like she could talk to him. He had just that kind of disposition. It began slowly enough, with her telling him about her classes at Marshall, and before she knew it she was on her third beer, telling a man she’d met only an hour before about her breakup and asshole professor she TA’d for. 

This man—Clyde—to his credit, stood there, nodded and reacted appropriately. He was a good listener, which was rare in a man. Very rare. Rey did feel a slight twinge of guilt for monopolizing his time, but no new customers entered the bar in the meanwhile, so it was, okay? Right? 

Before she knew it, it was just after midnight and she still felt bad for talking Clyde’s ear off. He didn’t seem to mind, though. Despite all that, Rey settled her tab and asked Clyde for directions to the motel once again. He drew her a diagram on a bar napkin, and she thanked him for his time and walked out. 

She walked to her car feeling a little lighter, not knowing if it was actually getting food in her stomach or the company. A smile spread across her face as she thought about said company, and a warmth she thought she’d never feel again bloomed in the pit of her stomach.  _ You’re being ridiculous,  _ she thought as she placed her keys in the ignition and...nothing. Her car wouldn’t start. A few more tries proved just as futile. Rey pounded the steering wheel. This was the cherry on her shit sundae of a semester. Just fucking perfect. She felt like she was about to cry—the lump in her throat, eyes welling, the whole nine yards. The first tear fell as she heard a tapping on her window. 

Seeing that it was Clyde, she wiped the tear away and opened her door. 

“Didn’t mean ta frighten ya. I was just bringin’ the trash out when I saw ya sittin’ here. Car trouble?” 

Rey nodded. “It won’t start, and I don’t know what to do…” 

“Well, now Miss Rey, don’t ya fret. Ain’t much ya can do about it tonight. Why don’t you come on back in the bar, and I’ll drive ya to the motel after last call. We can call ya a tow truck in the mornin’.” 

“If it’s just a few miles down the road I can walk…” Rey didn’t need charity from a stranger on top of this whole situation. 

“Miss Rey, I ain’t trying ta argue or say ya can’t handle yerself, but ya ain’t no match for a bobcat.” 

Rey’s eyes widened hearing that last word. “Really?” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

She bit her lip and looked toward the rocky wooded terrain across the road from the bar. She half expected to see such a creature jump out from the woods at them. “Okay.” 

***

Not much unnerved Clyde Logan. In Iraq, he’d stared death in the face and laughed more than a few times. Seeing the horrors of war first-hand hardened a man. Things like spiders and snakes no longer phased him like they did in his younger years. However, the young woman who’d waltzed into his bar and he’d offered to help without a second thought scared the  _ hell _ out of him. 

When he woke up, all was the same. He went through his morning routine, but as steadily as the rivers descending from the Appalachian Mountains flowed, it began small but picked up in intensity until it was flowing as wide and fast as the mighty Mississippi. The closer his truck took him toward the Duck Tape, the more constricted his chest felt, the harder his heart thrummed in his ears. 

It wasn’t an unpleasant sense of anxiety. Two tours overseas had all but made him numb to the type of dread that strikes fear in the hearts of men. It almost reminded him of knocking on Beth Hawkin’s door on prom night his senior year of high school—stumbling over his words with sweaty palms. Clyde wasn’t that gangly teen aged boy anymore. He also wasn’t scared of women anymore. He wasn’t scared of much anymore...or so he thought. He didn’t know what to do with this strange set of sensations awakened in him by the chestnut-haired beauty called Rey. 

It would be easy to turn his truck around and head back to his trailer, but he’d given his word to help call her a tow truck—and Clyde Logan was a man of his word. Being stranded in Boone County, Rey might as well be a tourist in a foreign land, and Clyde felt duty-bound to help her. All that in mind didn’t stop his hand from shaking when he raised his hand to knock on the door of her motel room. 

Before she stepped out, Clyde prayed that she wasn’t as pretty as he remembered her from last night. He hoped it was only a trick of the lighting in the Duck Tape-and maybe a few too many shots shared with his customers. The door swung open, and luck had left the Logan family once more. 

They greeted each other and fell into an easy silence as they made the short drive toward the bar. Rey was content to look out the passenger window and take in the late fall scenery she’d missed in the dark last night. This was fine with Clyde. He was quiet—sometimes to a fault—and didn’t need to fill silence with idle chatter. That was his brother, Jimmy’s,  _ modus operandi _ . Clyde chose his words very carefully, and only spoke if he felt it would move the conversation along. 

Throwing his truck in park when they reached their destination seemed to break what enchantment the woods of Boone County seemed to hold over her, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. It was a genuine smile, one that hadn’t been present on his face in a while and one that wasn’t forced. He shook his head, opting not to think about why that was. She was just passing through. Nothing more. Nothing less.

“I already called Earl ta come meet us with the tow truck. Shouldn’t be much longer now,” he said, looking down the road, in the direction Earl would be coming from. 

Rey nodded. “That’s good. Thanks for helping me, Clyde. I’d be completely lost without you.” 

That lilting voice, and the way his name sounded as it fell from her lips, he could listen to her all day.  _ Get a hold of yourself, Logan _ . Those thoughts were far too intimate for a woman he’d just met. 

The sound of Earl’s tow truck coming down the road made both their heads snap in the direction of the sound. Earl pulled into the parking lot and made quick work of hooking Rey’s car up. 

Thirty minutes later, Earl emerged from the garage into his shop to share his findings with Rey. Clyde had wandered off to look at some plumbing supplies for the bar when he saw the pair discussing the damage. He was too far away from them to hear what was being said, but judging by Rey’s reaction, it wasn’t going to be an easy or cheap fix.

Earl walked away to go speak with another customer, and a look of utter defeat spread across her face. Clyde didn’t know much about women, but he knew enough to go over and see what was wrong, but tread carefully. 

Rey offered him a reassuring smile once he had walked over to her, but it was clear it was all an act. “What’s the damage?” 

Her shoulders slumped as she sighed. “It’s gonna be $750…” 

A wince spread across Clyde’s face before he could remember to control his expressions. 

Rey raised her eyebrows and scoffed. “Yeah. There goes eating for the rest of the semester. Also, Earl said it will take at least a week to get the part in, so there goes my grand plans of reading and roasting marshmallows in the fire pit.” 

She placed her palm on her forehead as she sighed, and ran it back along the crown of her head toward her messy bun. Clyde was paralyzed by what to do next. He had to do something to help her, right? Not necessarily, he reminded himself. He’d literally just met her last night. Regardless, some magnetic force kept pulling him toward her. The pull was strong, and Clyde didn’t know if he could, or even wanted to, resist it. Why was this woman affecting him like this? 

Then, an idea popped into his brain. He knew a way that he could help her, and before anything could stop him, his mouth opened and spilled his suggestion. 

“You could come work for me at the Duck Tape.” 

She sighed. “Clyde, I don’t want you to feel obligated. I also don’t want to impose.” 

“Ain’t no imposition, Miss Rey,” he assured her. 

She looked back in the direction of the garage and back to Clyde, repeating the gesture twice more before biting her lip. “Okay, when do I start?”

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am. Comments and kudos sustain your local fic writers, so don't for get to tip us! 
> 
> Thanks to my Clyde-pert and beta, [MyJediLife](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyJediLife/pseuds/MyJediLife) for allowing me to pick her brain and yeet at her about this.

Rey couldn’t quite understand why Clyde was being so helpful and sweet, but she didn’t want to give him a reason to doubt his generosity. 

The first night at the bar, Rey dove head first into her work, much to Clyde’s amusement. He told her to slow down no less than four times that night. Every time, she would just offer a sheepish smile and a “sorry”. Clyde’s brother, Jimmy, wandered into the bar at one point in the evening and the two were introduced before Rey served him a beer. 

The second night, she caught herself stealing glances at Clyde more than she would care to admit. Clyde  _ was  _ handsome and Rey  _ was  _ single, so there was no harm in looking. His broad muscular frame and beautiful face just begged to be stared at. More than that, there was something behind his eyes that Rey wanted to unlock, even in just the two days they’d known each other. The times when she had gotten him to laugh? Well those just seemed like magic. His eyes said he was holding things just below the surface—pain, sadness, Rey couldn’t say, but she wanted to know everything about the enigma that was Clyde Logan. 

Rey had to catch herself, though. She’d  _ only  _ known him for two days, not a lot of time in the grand scheme of things. Also, she was leaving Boone County as soon as the hunk of junk she called her car was working once again. Earl down at the auto repair shop had assured her it wouldn’t be long before the part arrived and she was back on her way. This was only a pit stop before heading back to Huntington, and she didn’t need any complications—namely one of the most gorgeous, kindest men she’d ever met. 

That logic didn’t help her when she was serving Clyde’s brother, Jimmy, a drink. She’d heard a laugh coming from Clyde’s direction. A woman’s laugh. The kind of laugh that a woman employs when she’s trying to say,  _ hey, dude, I like you _ . She looked over toward the source of the sound and saw Clyde talking to another woman. 

The woman looked a little older than Clyde, maybe ten years or so. She had brown hair and one of those faces where you couldn’t decide if she was hot or not. All Rey knew was that she wanted her to back the hell away from Clyde. 

_ Calm down, you barely know him.  _

Was it just her imagination, or did Clyde slightly recoil when she brushed her hand up against his good arm? Yeah, it was just a trick of the dim light that he looked like he’d been caught red-handed at her when she did that. 

“Who’s that?” Rey asked, nodding in the direction of the scene she was totally not observing. 

“That’s Ann, we’ve been knowin’ her only six months. Pops in and out of the county every now and then and comes and sits a spell here. Says she has kin—grandma or somethin’—who lives around here. It seems like she’s taken a shine ta my brother.” Rey nodded in understanding, still internally embarrassed by her reaction to Clyde talking to another woman. “And apparently she ain’t the only woman in Boone County who has…” 

“What?” Rey asked, initially perplexed. She quickly caught Jimmy’s meaning, her cheeks beginning to feel warm. “Oh, no. No, no, no. I’m only here until my car gets fixed—nothing more, nothing less.” 

Jimmy quirked an eyebrow and raised his beer to his lips. “If you say so.”

Rey stammered for a second until her eyes fell on the half-empty trash can. “I need to take the trash out.”

She needed to get a grip. This wasn’t like her. She was not the type of girl to swoon when a guy showed her the least bit of kindness, and she wasn’t about to start now. Clyde had merely seen a fellow human being in need and lent a helping hand. That was all. She was also going back to her life in Huntington as soon as her car was fixed. The sooner she could leave this county, the faster she could forget about a certain tall, handsome bar owner. 

Rey stomped out of the bar into the chilly night air with the black trash bag and headed toward the dumpster. After tossing the bag in, she made her way toward the back entrance of the bar. She heard a female voice near the front entrance of the bar on her phone. 

No one was mulling around the front, so Rey assumed the woman wanted privacy. The closer she got, Rey recognized the voice—Ann. Rey’s curious nature overrode her better judgement, and she stood just close enough where she could hear and not be seen. 

“Honey, I just need a few more days.” 

_ Honey? Wait, was she married or in a relationship?  _

“I know I said that three weeks ago. I promise you, I’ll have the evidence before the Bureau needs to close the case.”

_ Bureau? “The case”? Clearly she’s not here for personal reasons, like Jimmy said. _

“This is  _ not _ going to be like my last trip to this godforsaken backwater county. I have the younger Logan brother  _ right _ where I want him. Just a little bit more flirting and I’ll find what I need, baby, I  _ promise _ .” Ann’s footsteps began retreating back into the bar. “I love you too, bye.”

What happened next, Rey couldn’t rightly explain, but after steadying herself with a few breaths when she slipped back into the bar and saw Ann—or whatever her name was—talking to Clyde, she was filled with a compulsion to act. She wasn’t sure how this would help Clyde or his family, but she was going to do it anyway. 

On edge the whole time, she continued to make a beeline for Clyde. His hands were pressed up against the bar and he was facing Ann. Moving directly behind him, Rey slipped her arms around his waist and pulled him in for a hug. 

Getting up on her tiptoes, she said in Clyde’s ear, but loud enough for anyone listening to hear, “Time for me to clock out for the evening, love.” 

Clyde’s confusion was slightly evident on his face. His eyes flicked over toward Ann for the briefest of seconds. Rey’s smile widened, trying to signal this was for her benefit. He turned to face her, and Rey tried to ignore the thrumming in her chest as their bodies were flush with one another. “Well, alright, darlin’. Let’s get ya cashed out.” 

They took a few short steps over to the register, and Clyde retrieved Rey’s pay for the evening. She took her cash and hazarded a quick glance back in Ann’s direction, just to make sure she was still looking. She was. 

Later, Rey would pinpoint this moment as the exact moment she went insane. Call it temporary insanity or whatever you will, but that’s what Rey would attribute it to. Insanity caused her to slip her hand around Clyde’s neck and press her lips to his. 

It began as just a quick peck goodbye, but Rey’s greedy body craved and took more. His lips were soft and plush, and even though the kiss should have been awkward as hell, it wasn’t. 

Rey thought it might have been just her imagination, but she swore in that moment she heard Clyde let out a small moan as he met her intensity. It should have been a strange, awkward moment that would make them feel self-conscious, but it wasn’t. 

That’s what made Rey break away. It was supposed to be awkward and cringey. It wasn’t. Ann was sitting at the bar, with her mouth agape as Clyde and Rey caught their breath. She raised her eyebrows in surprise, throwing some cash down on the bar. “Clyde Logan, you are full of surprises.” 

Mission accomplished, Rey thought as she sauntered out of the Duck Tape, her body seemingly hunched in defeat. She hoped that was enough to make Ann hightail it out of Boone County. Clyde—on the other hand—was another matter she had to deal with. 

_ Shit.  _ She clearly didn’t think this through. He just stared at her with a slightly dazed and confused expression. Rey’s grip tightened around the cash he’d handed her until her knuckles were white. She closed her mouth—not realizing it was open until that very moment. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled and ran out of the bar as fast as her legs could carry her, forgetting Clyde’s warnings about bobcats from the previous night. 

It was only when she’d reached the door of her hotel room that she realized she’d left her purse in the bar. After getting a spare key from the annoyed front desk attendant, she locked herself in her room. Flopping down on the bed and slapping her face to her hand, she pondered what exactly the hell she’d just done. 

A completely rational person would have merely pulled Clyde off to the side and explained that this Ann character maybe wasn’t to be trusted. Rey, however, chose tonight to not act entirely rational. Maybe it was the slight crush she had on Clyde, and her tragic flaw of latching on to people who’d shown her the least bit of kindness. 

Whatever it was, it had caused Rey a lot of embarrassment. Clyde was technically her boss, and he probably didn’t take kindly to sexual harassment from his employees. She sighed, this would be fine. In the past few days, she’d earned enough money from the Duck Tape, plus the money in her bank account to (barely) cover her car repairs, but she had enough money, nonetheless. She didn’t need to go back to work at the bar or ever see Clyde Logan’s face again. 

The universe; however, had other plans. No sooner had she become resolute about not going back to work at the bar, there was a knock on the door. Rey moved toward the door slowly, trying not to make any noise. She looked through the peephole, and a sense of dread that had crept up in her subsided—it was Clyde, with her purse. There was no getting around this now, but maybe she could get rid of him quickly. 

“Hey Clyde,” she greeted, reaching for her purse. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I’d left it at the bar. Thanks for bringing it.” 

“No problem,” he nodded. 

“Well, thanks again, goodnight,” she said, beginning to shut the door. 

Clyde stopped her from shutting the door by holding his arm out. “So we’re just not gonna talk about that little move ya pulled at the bar?” 

Rey groaned and brought a hand to her face. So much for getting rid of him quickly. “Sorry about that.” 

“Ya jealous of Ann or somethin’?” he asked earnestly. 

_ Yes. No. Maybe.  _ “God, no, Clyde.” 

“Then what?” he challenged, taking a step closer to her. 

“Ann’s not who you think,” Rey blurted out. “I...I heard her talking, and I think she’s with the FBI, and she was talking about a case and I didn’t know what else to do and…” 

“Shit,” Clyde’s quiet voice broke her out of her rambling. 

“This makes sense to you?” Rey asked, Clyde’s confusion now transferring over to her. 

Clyde nodded. “Ya mind if I come in?” 

Rey nodded and stepped back from the door. 

“We also better call Jimmy.” 

Jimmy and a woman she didn’t recognize, dressed in leopard print pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt, burst through the door minutes later. 

“So what’s so important ya dragged me outta bed at one in the mornin’, Clyde?” the woman said in an irritated tone, not bothering with a greeting. 

“Be nice, Mellie,” Jimmy warned. 

“Nice ends the minute my head hits the pillow,” she glared at him. 

“Rey, this is my sister, Mellie,” Clyde said, pointing toward her. 

“Hi,” Rey spoke up with a small wave.

“Why dontcha tell them what ya told me,” Clyde prompted her. 

“Well, I overheard Ann on a phone call outside the Duck Tape, talking about gathering evidence for the Bureau. She also mentioned something about a case as well. It seemed like her plan was to flirt and get close to Clyde so she could get the evidence she needed.” 

“Shit,” Mellie whispered, falling back in a chair. 

“Mhmmm,” Clyde said. 

“What have ya told her?” Jimmy asked, looking between Clyde and Rey. 

“Told me about what?” Rey interjected. 

“Nothin’,” Clyde replied, leaning back against the wall. 

“Let’s keep it that way, the less people know the better,” Mellie said, like this wasn’t up for discussion. 

“Know about what?” Rey said to no one in particular. Her words went ignored. 

“She knows more than she oughta at this point, we might as well tell her the whole story,” Jimmy replied, gesturing toward her. 

Rey was tired of being ignored. “Tell me what?!” 

***

“Tell me what?!” Rey shouted, demanding to be paid attention to. 

The three Logan siblings looked toward her. Clyde drew his lips into a tight line. He thought the potential for fallout from his brother’s damn  _ cauliflower plans _ was long past. That’s what Jimmy had said. The FBI had stopped surveillance at Jimmy’s old trailer. That was it, it was done. The plan was to live the rest of their lives with only those involved in the heist knowing what happened. Not anymore. 

Ann—or whatever her name was—was still snooping around, still asking questions. Clyde’s initial instinct was right along with Mellie’s. He wanted to shield Rey from what was happening. She was just passing through Boone County and didn’t need to get roped into any further  _ cauliflower plans _ Jimmy might be hatching. 

Her curiosity wasn’t about to be denied. “Will someone just tell me what’s going on?” 

Clyde sighed. He realized that, like it or not, by kissing him she’d possibly put herself in the crosshairs of an FBI agent. She’d stuck her neck out for him in a pretty public way to protect him and his family. She deserved to know what she’d gotten herself into. So, against his better judgement, despite glares and protests from his siblings, he opened his mouth. “Sit down, Rey. I’ll tell ya everything.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Twitter](https://twitter.com/em_is_writing)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this update finds you safe and healthy in this crazy world we find ourselves in. 
> 
> Many apologies for the delay in updating. I’m literally the worst, but hopefully updates for all my WIPs should be coming in quicker. I appreciate your patience. 
> 
> Many thanks to my beta, MyJediLife, for adding the commas and keeping the Southern dialect tight.

It was almost too outlandish to be true. Once Rey sat down on the bed, Clyde told her why Ann had come to town. It all started with a Molotov cocktail, and ended with Ann showing up about a month ago—with jailbreaks and heists sprinkled in for good measure. 

Rey wouldn’t have believed it, except she’d seen news reports about the heist on Memorial Day weekend. One of her undergrad students also had a summer job at the race track, and was regaling her fellow students with tales of how chaotic that day was. 

“You caused quite the run on beer that day,” Rey informed them with a sly smile. 

At one point while Jimmy and Clyde took turns telling the tale of their heists, Mellie had left the room to see if she could learn anything more about Ann. The desk clerk who’d given Rey a hard time about forgetting her room key had just gone off duty, and an aging man with a penchant for literally falling asleep on the job had just taken her place. 

“What makes ya so sure Ann’s stayin’ here?” Jimmy asked. 

“It’s the only motel in town,” Mellie began, “ _and_ I saw her car in the parking lot when I pulled up.” 

A few moments after Jimmy and Clyde had wrapped up their story, Mellie returned to the room, looking like the cat who ate the cream. 

“Any luck?” Clyde asked. 

“Her real name is Sarah Grayson, and she’s FBI.” 

“How’d ya find that out?” Jimmy questioned.

“The guest ledger was sittin’ wide open on the front desk. It said ‘S. Grayson’, and I googled that plus FBI. A few articles about our escapades popped up.” 

The siblings nodded, satisfied with Mellie’s efforts. A silence descended upon the room for just a moment before Jimmy got a _look_ on his face that Rey could only describe as devious. 

Clyde and Mellie had taken note, too. They were immediately alarmed and glared at Jimmy, telepathically communicating through sibling magic that whatever schemes he might be concocting needed to die a quick death in his mind and never be spoken of again. Mellie pursed her lips to further drive the point home. 

“What?” Jimmy questioned, feigning innocence. 

“Last time ya got that look on yer face, I was applyin’ nail polish ta cockroaches in yer trailer!” 

Clyde piped in. “And I drove a car inta the Quick Mart!” 

Jimmy scratched the back of his neck. “Ya also went ta jail…,” his voice trailing off as he spoke. 

“See!” Clyde said. “After I told ya my life of crime was over.” 

“Okay, okay,” Jimmy raised his hands in mock surrender. “Alls I’m sayin’ is, Rey, ya heard Ann—er Agent Grayson?” Mellie nodded in confirmation. “Has ‘til the end of the week ta make her case?”

“That’s what she made it sound like.” 

Jimmy shrugged. “What if we put word out that we was plannin’ another heist, and she’s so focused on catchin’ us for the new one, she doesn’t make the old case?” 

“It might could work,” Clyde said from his spot against the wall. 

“We just need a way ta keep her from gettin’ her claws into ol’ Clyde over here,” Jimmy nodded in his brother’s direction. 

“Never mind ya worry ‘bout that,” Clyde huffed. 

“What, ya don’t find Agent Grayson’s feminine wiles appealin’?” Jimmy ribbed. Mellie snorted from her spot on the bed. 

Rey could have sworn that Clyde’s expressive brown eyes flicked over to her for the briefest of seconds. Her heart leapt in her chest as she watched him a little too intently. His voice was softer when he opened his mouth. “Just ain’t interested.” 

“Well, that and she already thinks we’re dating ‘cuz I kissed you,” Rey said, the words slipping out without a second thought. 

Clyde winced in his spot, the tips of his ears blazing. God, Rey knew it. He didn’t enjoy the kiss. She wanted to melt into the spot where she stood, and not be here for the inevitable humiliation. Mellie then did something strange. She smirked and looked between Rey and Clyde with an amused expression. “Now when were ya gonna tell us about this, Clyde?” 

He avoided his sister’s gaze. “Leave it alone, Mellie.” 

“No, no, we’re gonna talk about this right now,” Jimmy said, pulling the chair from the room desk, flipping it around, and facing them. 

“Yeah,” Mellie said, flopping down on the bed, “we got plenty of time to discuss this, Clyde.”

Clyde huffed. “What happened to ‘Nice ends the minute my head hits the pillow’?” 

Mellie shrugged. “This is more interesting.”

Clyde rubbed the back of his neck. “No, it ain’t. Miss Rey heard Agent Grayson talkin’, found out she wasn’t who she said she was, Miss Rey came back in the bar an’ saw her bein’ a little too friendly, and she decided to warn me.” 

“...By kissin’ you?” Jimmy asked. “Well, irregardless…”

“Regardless,” Clyde cut him off with a mumble. 

“ _Irregardless_ ,” Jimmy repeated, elongating the word, “y’all just keep bein’ cozy and keep Ann, er, Agent Grayson away from my brother.” 

Clyde didn’t answer, just rolled his eyes. “I think Miss Rey has had enough Logan family quality time for one night.” 

Mellie audibly thanked the Lord at Clyde’s words, and Jimmy muttered something about having an early shift in the morning. Rey bid them both goodbye as they headed out the door. Clyde hung back, and she walked over to him before he could get very far. 

“Clyde?” 

He hummed in response. 

Rey fidgeted in her spot and picked at her cuticles. “I’m sorry about saying anything to your brother and sister about...earlier…” 

A small, warm smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “Never ya mind that, Miss Rey.” 

Rey chuckled. “Call me Rey. If we’re going to pretend to date, you should just call me Rey.” 

Clyde raised his eyebrows. “Yer... _okay_ with this half-baked scheme my brother hatched?”

“In for a penny, in for a pound,” Rey shrugged with a smirk. 

“‘Spose yer right,” Clyde answered with a smirk. 

“And, I’m sorry about earlier,” she repeated. 

He gave her a look for just a fraction of a second—blink and you’ll miss it. There was something behind that _look_ , Rey wouldn’t dare speculate what. Not that there was much time to do so. Mellie’s car backfired, and snapped them both out of the moment and Clyde shook his head. “Like I said, never ya mind that, Miss Rey.” 

“Goodnight, Clyde.” 

“Goodnight, Miss Rey.”

She went about her normal bedtime routine, finishing off by flopping down on the squeaky hotel bed. Right now, Rey was a little too wired to sleep. Her thoughts ran amok, which explained her hyperfixation on all things Clyde. 

The way he looked at her? Well, they were just a little too weighted, too long, too... _everything_. In some secret place, Rey had dared to hope Clyde could return her feelings. She knew it was a long shot for him to reciprocate her stupid little school girl crush, but the idea had already taken root. It had found fertile ground in Rey’s heart and brain, despite all reason and logic. 

If her errant thoughts were life-giving water to the roots that had already taken hold, some unbidden thought quickly threw the equivalent of weed killer on them. _He’s only doing this to avoid prison time_. Rey sighed, she knew that. Deep down, she also knew that the kiss wasn’t real, and it was all for show. She just wished she could have been alone with the more pleasant daydreams her brain had supplied for just a little longer. 

***

_Aw, hell_ was the first thing that popped in Clyde’s head when he saw Jimmy enter the Duck Tape the next night. It was the fact that Jimmy entered his place of business that made him swear. No. The diorama of God only knows what, however, that made him swear and break out in hives in five seconds flat. 

“Clyde, would you and Rey oblige me by coming into the office?” 

Rey wiped her hands on a towel and shot Clyde a puzzled look. He shook his head and looked at her apologetically—hoping she wouldn't mysteriously vanish from the county after what Jimmy was about to show them. Rey just became even more confused. 

“Come on, let’s get this over with,” Clyde nodded in the direction of his office. 

“Make yourselves comfortable,” Jimmy said once they’d both entered. 

_How nice of him to invite me to make myself cozy in my own office._

“The plan is simple, really,” Jimmy began. 

“What...plan?” Rey asked from beside Clyde. 

“Well, I’m glad ya asked, Miss Rey,” Jimmy said, eliciting a groan from Clyde that he didn’t mean to let out. 

Clyde pursed his lips together. “Continue…” 

The plan _was_ simple. Black Friday was only a few days away. Somehow—Jimmy was a little sketchy on details—the word would spread that the same bandits responsible for the heist at the Charlotte Motor Speedway were ready to strike again at the John Denver Mall, right in the heart of Boone County. They would use the same M.O. as last time—knock out the credit card machines so people would revert to using cash and…

“Nothin’...we do nothin’ this time!” Jimmy concluded with all the gusto of a magician who’d just finished a trick successfully. 

Clyde raised his eyebrows in suspicion. “Nothin’?” 

“Clyde,” he lowered his voice, “we don’t need no more money. This right here’s what we call a _runnin’ out the clock_ situation.” 

“Like in football?” Rey piped in. 

“Well, yes, like in football,” Jimmy replied, extending a hand in Rey’s direction. “Way I figure, Agent Grayson’s on borrowed time. Her bosses ain’t gonna wanna drag this out into the holiday season. We pull their legs until Friday, and we’re off scott-free for the Speedway Robbery.” 

Clyde nodded. “One tiny problem tho…” 

“What’s that, big little brother?” 

“The Bang Brothers are currently _incommunicado_ and as such, cannot assist us in shuttin’ down the credit card machines again.” 

“I can do it,” Rey piped in once again. 

Fear seized up in Clyde’s heart again. Damnit. What was it about this woman that had him so vexed and out of order? 

“No,” he said, turning his head toward her, the word coming out more forcefully than he’d intended. 

Rey turned her head toward Clyde and raised her eyebrows, not backing down. “No?” 

“We got trouble in paradise, _lovebirds_?” Jimmy teased. Their heads snapped back in the older Logan’s direction in sync. They both shot him an equally deadly look. Jimmy looked too amused for his own good. 

“Clyde, I’m a software engineer major. I can do it, _and_ it will be a bit more elegant than whatever the Bang brothers came up with.” 

Clyde drew his lips into a tight line. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like it one bit. Rey was already too deep into this mess, and didn’t need to wade further in. But Rey was tougher than she looked. Clyde knew when a person had been through some shit. Call it an occupational hazard of being a bartender _and_ having seen the war-worn eyes of his brothers in arms. Rey had definitely seen some shit—and whatever hell might be rained upon her in the fallout of this scheme—Clyde knew she could handle it. Yet and still, she raised his protective instincts he thought were long buried.

_Why_ did he care so much about how deep she was in this? He really couldn’t think about that now. 

“Don’t much like it, but if ya say ya can do it…”

Rey nodded. 

Jimmy slapped his knee. “Well that settles that. Y’all come to Lowe’s tomorrow or the next day—once Agent Grayson gets word—to make it look like we’re preparin’.” 

Clyde and Rey nodded, but Clyde’s was more hesitant. Unsure. How did he manage to get himself dragged into another scheme? His eyes fluttered over toward the woman he was meant to be dating. _That’s why_ , his traitorous brain supplied. He closed his eyes, summoning all the energy he possessed, and pushed any thoughts of his new employee out of his mind. Down that path were dangers Clyde wasn’t accustomed to facing. He had no plans to start facing them now. 

Jimmy excused himself from the office, saying he needed to see a man about a beer. Clyde crossed over to the chair behind his desk, surveying the diorama. He half expected Rey to follow Jimmy back out to the bar and keep working, but she stayed behind. 

Clyde quickly wished she hadn’t. A shooting paint throbbed through his left arm—a souvenir from his time in the Marines. He tried not to wince or give any sign of discomfort, but Rey turned her head at the exact moment his face had twisted into a grimace. 

“You alright?” Rey asked, concern etched on her face. 

“Damn phantom pains,” he gritted out, practically tearing off his prosthetic arm. Once he was free of that, he looked up and saw Rey standing in front of him. “I’m alright, Miss Rey.” 

She looked at his arm and reached out for it. “May I?” 

He slowly reached his arm out, hoping he wasn’t indulging some sick curiosity. Her slender fingers wrapped around his stump, and the other hand steadied his upper arm—and she did something Clyde didn’t expect—she began massaging his arm. 

The pressure was light and barely there at first, but as Clyde let his arm relax in Rey’s hands, the pressure increased as she rubbed concentric circles on his achy stump. She concentrated on her task, holding Clyde mesmerized as she worked. Leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes, he let out a sigh—glad for a reprieve from the pain. 

“Why are ya helpin’ me?” The question came out before he could stop himself. This wasn’t like him. Normally, he had control over his words, chose them carefully. Now, he was blurting out the first thing that popped into his head.

Rey held his gaze for a few minutes, considering her response. She shrugged. “You’ve been a friend to me when I needed one over the past few days. It’s my small way of repaying the favor.” 

The sinking feeling in his chest when she said _friend_ was hard to ignore. It was stupid. They were friends, but that was where it stopped. He didn’t have time to chide himself for his errant thoughts. 

Up until that point, their bodies had been a safe distance from each other, but that all changed. Rey’s thigh brushed up against Clyde’s knee. Their eyes found each other quicker than a jack rabbit. Rey gasped at their touch, or was that just a trick of Clyde’s imagination? The blush that was forming on Clyde’s cheeks and ears, however, wasn’t. 

A clattering noise from the bar drew their attention, and their heads turned in the direction of the sound. What drew their attention wasn’t a dropped plate, but Agent Grayson had taken residence at a table with a clear line of sight into Clyde’s office. 

Rey sighed and gently cupped his face with her hand. “I should get back out there.” 

She placed a kiss on his forehead before exiting the office, and for a few seconds, Clyde allowed himself to believe it was because Rey actually cared for him, not because they were part of some elaborate ruse, but because she genuinely wanted to touch him—stump and all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m on Twitter @em_is_writing ☺️


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